Chorzow Zoo

Silesian Zoological Garden was founded in 1954 and is situated in the Katowice and Chorzów districts of Silesia. It covers over 47.6 ha within the Silesian Central Park . The Silesian zoo is a home for about 2 500 animals of 300 species. It is visited by over 390 000 people annually. A mini-zoo is the collection of gentler animals which are (directly) accessible to children. The dinosaur valley contains full-scale reconstruction of 16 large dinosaurs, the remains of which were found by a Polish expedition to the Gobi desert . You meet the regular zooanimals as well as mountain zebras and oryx's

The first zoo operating in the City of Katowice was a zoo in Bytom, founded in 1898 by businessman-philanthropist Ignatius Hakuba. After the Second World War, this garden has resumed its operations only to 1947. Bytomskie zoo was located at 3rd Street Parkowa It had at that time, 89 animals belonging to 25 species, which was cared by 10 employees. The head of that garden was Dr. Zygmunt Zielinski, who later became director of the Silesian Zoological Garden. Bytomskie Zoo attracted great interest by visitors - every year they garden had almost 200 thousand visitors. For the public garden was open in the period from April to November. It was officially closed 31st May 1957, but some animals such as the bears remained there until 1966. Another zoo running at this time in Upper Silesia was the Zoological Garden in Katowice, which occupied an area of approcematily 9 acres and was located at 7th Street Banking The garden had a collection of over 400 animals of 86 species. It was founded by the Society for the Protection of Animals in Katowice in 1946, but opened for zoo visitors 4 years later, in 1950. It could be visited from early May to late October. Head of the Municipal Zoo in Katowice was Tadeusz Bandura, who after the Silesian Zoological Garden in Chorzów became its first director. In 1951, in a coal mining area between Chorzow, Katowice and Siemianowicami the construction of the present Provincial Park of Culture and Recreation began. The organization of this investment began under Governor General George Ziętek, since 1985 this park bears his name. It covers a total area of about 600 ha. During construction many miles of roads and alleys where constructed, the whole area was planted with lots of different kinds of trees and shrubs. In the area also began to create many things that were supposed to become popular with local residents and the entire province. One such institution was the Silesian Zoological Garden, which was established in 1953 by a resolution of the Bureau Provincial Council in Stalinogrodzie. The construction of the area of the Zoo, the first roads and buildings for animals started in 1954. Then the zoo at the makeshift restaurant "Doe" brought the first zoo operating in Katowice and the Bytom. At the end of the 50s both of these gardens have ceased their activities and their functions taken over by a large garden in Chorzow, which was officially opened in 1958. As previously mentioned, the first director of the newly created garden was Tadeusz Bandura (born 1907), a trained animal husbandry, who held the position until 1960. For eight consecutive years, however, was a scientific consultant of the facility. During this time, the Silesian Zoological Garden was developing steadily. Formed the next room and run for many exotic animals. Even in 1958, created room for the buffalo, brown and Himalayan bears, lions and panthers, as well as building a veterinary clinic. In 1960 the building stood Exotarium, which now is the home for monkeys and reptiles. The second director of the zoo was Irenaeus Chorzów Kotarba (born 1930). Previously, he was an employee of the Coast Zoo in Gdańsk-Oliwa and director of the Zoo in Opole. During his term continued expansion of the garden. In 1961 the buildings for antelopes was erected. Four years later, in 1965 there was great pavilion designed for elephants and hippos. In subsequent years, created the space for the tapir, deer, addax, camels, llamas, giraffes and nilgai antelopes. Also built was a large aviary, where you can watch different species of birds of prey, and recently exhibited are herons. In 1971 the new director of Chorzów Zoo was elected - it was Zygmunt Zielinski (born 1925), a veterinarian by training, who in the 50's was director of the zoo in Bytom, and then worked as a veterinarian at the zoo in Gdansk. In the years 1965 - 1991 he worked in the Silesian Zoo veterinarian successively as Deputy Director, and since 1971 as director of the garden. In 1975 in the zoo was created a so-called rocky valley for dinosaurs, the only in the country. Here you find life-size models of dinosaurs reconstructed from fossils found in the years 1963-1971 in the Gobi Desert by a group of Polish paleontologists led by prof. Zofia Kielan - Jaworowski. In the area of the valley you can see 16 speciements belonging to seven species. When this exhibition was created, presented in it were the first reconstructions of dinosaurs newly discovered and known species. The original remains of these dinosaurs can be admired today in the Department of paleozoology Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw. By the end of the 70's to use and was given a room for tigers, pumas and snow leopards. Pavilion built aquarium, as well as the pavilion, which accommodates the different species of parrots now. In the 80's, arrived at the Zoo include facilities for donkeys, kulans, guanaco sand the building that now houses the management of the garden. Successor director was Jan Piotr Zielinski Liszka (born 1941), who was an employee at the Zoo since 1969. His work in the garden began as an assistant in the breeding and research department. He later became head of the department, and from 1991 through the next 15 years he was director of the Silesian Zoological Garden. At that time, the area for animals, including modern homes for flamingos, and lemurs, in which the animals spend the winter as well as two large aviaries for birds of prey, ibises where erected. The enclosures has also been called Mini zoo, is very popular in spring and summer, mainly by children, who can see rabbits, guinea pigs, goats and sheep. In 2007, for three months served its function Jolanta Kopiec, an economist who was in office from 2002 to 2006 of the Local Councillor of Silesia. After she left, this function was held by Andrzej Malec - head of livestock in the Silesian Zoo, and more recently Kazimierz Dul - Deputy Director of the Department of Environmental Protection at the Marshal's Office. Currently director of the Silesian Zoological Garden is again Jolanta Kopiec.

After passing the entrance we turn right and se some aviarys for small cats like the lynx and the Caracal, as well as for hyenas. At the small lake for ducks we turn left and then right at the guanacos. Passing the Highkand Cattle and having the Alpaca in front of us, we turn right and look at the white rhino. Theire neighbours are the Giraffes. At the lake in front of us we follow the road on the right and look at the cute Red Panda. Then follows a small aquarium, a lemur house and a house for parots. Going toward the 2 big aviarys we se on the right hand the llama and after a while smaller aviarys for the Condor. Going along the enclosure for kangaroos and emus we soon se the fastest cat, the cheetah. Here we turn right and follow the lake around, where we among others se the Otter. The we look at a new building, the exotarium and go inside. Outside again we turn right And se the Waterbucks, go in to there hose, inside is a small terrarium and its also home for small monkeys, like the Cotton-top Tamarin. Outsid again we look at Nyalas, Lechwe kobs, Bactrian Camels and sheep, where we follow the enclosure. Across we suddenly se the maned wolf and at its end turn left. After a while we meet donkeys and then the big buffalo from North America, the Bison. Turning left again we soon se zebras on one hand and cages for big cats like the Snow Leopard and the Amur Tiger. Behinde them we finde the lions and the bears. Across the bar we look now down to the dinosaurs and then the sabel oryx, befor we again are at the Alpacas enclosure. Across we have a lake for cormorants and behinde them a good enclosure for a male Asian Elephant, sadly the only elephant I could se. Even worse is the single hippo living in a small pool. Outside again we look at another enclosure for alpacas and the follw the Siatunga enclosure (right across we finde som birds), and turn right at the Davids deer. After watching the Nilghai we turn left at the red deer, and look then at the doe and some ponys. Now reached to the wilderbeest we turn left and look at the Poitou donkeys, as soon as possible we turn right and look at the Eland antilope. Following the vicugna-enclosure arround we se the greater kudu and follow the road by following it to the right after a while, where we finde an eclosure for ostriches. At the end we turn left and se some lemurs, flamingos and pelicans, before we step the steps downstairs to the exit.